guest: boy, god bless my father, may he rest in peace, i'm going to say truman, because truman, given the situation he was faced with at the beginning of the cold war, he put in place institutions that were lasting and that were designed to safeguard american interests in the broadest sense, which is to say, to bring in american to create and solidify alliances, to try and ensure that hostility or aggressive tendencies would not necessarily lead to war. he was a great institution builder. his administration was. having said that, he promulgated the truman doctrine, which essentially was an ideological clarion call.

george cannon, the father of containment, hated the truman doctrine because he thought it would put politicians, it would limit their flexibility. that was, this is what happened. the fall we talked about, the fall of china, and how it haunted lyndon johnson, and he felt the fall of saigon would destroy him. that was probably the truman doctrine. we are called on to defend freedom wherever it is threatened. that is much more broadly ideological and capricious than it should have been. it should have been tailored to american interests. nonetheless, he, in building institutions, he was an admirable figure. having said that, he began the cold war, and there are many downsides to his policy as well. i think fdr was a very effective president as well, obviously, in fighting the second world war.

i am cognizant of the fact i am talking about people from 60 or 70 years ago and i wish i could come up with somebody more recent. a statement of more recent vintage. i think james baker was a very able statesman, actually. sort of smart, and very keen to protect american interests. george h.w. bush will probably be more highly respected as the years go on. you know, in basketball you know , how sometimes the commentator will say "good no foul on the official part," that it was smart the official did not call foul. there was a sense in which george h.w. bush did things that prevented catastrophe that might have happened at the end of the cold war, so in a sense, these were negative achievements, dogs that did not bark, and i think he will go down as better than

we now think of him. host: our guest is mark danner, a professor at uc berkeley and bard, written all of his life grew up in utica, new york. , harvard graduate. we thank you. your book is called "spiral: trapped in the forever war." thank you very much for joining us. guest: my pleasure. glad to be here. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this program, visit us at q&a.org. programs are available as c-span podcasts. ♪

>> if you enjoyed this week's q and a, here are some others you might like. daniel bolger talks about his book, why we lost, a generals inside account of the iraq and afghanistan wars. john burns talks about covering military efforts in iraq and afghanistan. former defense secretary, donald rumsfeld on his book, known and unknown about his life in public service. you can watch these online and search our entire video library at c-span.org. ♪ journaln's washington live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. monday morning, the "washington post" national security writer. he will discuss some of the

defense and national security challenges facing a trump administration. a retired colonel who worked extensively with the incoming defense secretary general mattis will share his insights. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern. join the discussion. ♪ >> next, the annual christmas message from queen elizabeth. from london, this is just under 10 minutes. ♪

>> there was a time when winners became household names because there were so few of them. the 67 medals at this year's games in rio, and 147 at the paralympics, meant that the gb medalists reception at buckingham palace was a crowded and happy event.

throughout the commonwealth, there were equally joyful celebrations. the bahamas, jamaica, and new zealand. many of this year's winners spoke of being inspired by previous generations. inspiration fed aspiration, and having discovered abilities a -- abilities they scarcely knew they had, these efforts allowed inspiring others. a few months ago, i saw inspiration of a different kind. it was not hard to be moved by the dedication of the highly

skilled doctors, paramedics, and crew who were cowed out on average five times a day. but to be inspirational, you don't have to save lives or win medals. i often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things. community organizers, and good neighbors. unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special. they are an inspiration to those who know them. and our lives frequently embody a truth expressed by mother teresa, from this year, saint teresa of calcutta. she said, not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love. this has been the experience of two remarkable organizations, the duke of edinburgh's award, and the president's trust, which are 60 and 40 years old this year.

these started as small initiatives that go beyond any expectations, and continue to transform young people's lives. to mark my 90th birthday, volunteers and supporters of the 600 charities of which i have been patron came to -- many of these organizations are modest in size, but inspire me with the work they do. giving friendship and support to our veterans, the elderly, or bereaved, to championing music and dance, providing animal welfare, or protecting our fields and forests. the devotion and generosity of spirit is an example to us all. when people face a challenge, they sometimes talk about taking a deep breath to find courage or strength. in fact, the word inspire

literally means to breathe in. but even with the inspiration of others, it's understandable that we sometimes think the world's problems are so big that we can do little to help. on our own, we cannot end wars or wiped out injustice. the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine. at christmas, our intention is drawn to the birth of a baby, some 2000 years ago. it was the humblest of beginnings, and his parents did not think they were important. jesus christ lived of his life -- lived most of his life and never traveled far.

he was maligned and rejected by many, though he had done no wrong. and yet, millions of people now follow his teaching, and finding him the guiding light for their lives. i am one of them, because christ's example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them, and whatever they themselves believe. the message of christmas reminds us that inspiration is a gift to be given, as well as received. and that love begins small, but always grows. i wish you all a very happy christmas. ♪

>> this week on c-span in prime time, monday night at 8:00 eastern, hear from some of the democrats vying to lead the party, including ray buckley, chair of the new hampshire party. keith ellison from minnesota. hit a seven year low in voter turnout, 36%. the democratic caucus is smaller than any time since truman. got a lot of rebuilding to do. >> tuesday night, president barack obama and since they visit the american naval base at

pearl harbor. mr. of a is the first sitting japanese leader to visit the site of the attack that launched u.s. involvement in world war ii. a review of senate hearings from 2016, from topics including the flint water crisis. >> seriously, you found out that one of your divisions had created 2 million fake accounts, have fired thousands of employees or improper behavior and had cheated thousands of your own customers and you did not even once consider firing her ahead of her retirement? >> thursday, we remember some of the political figures that passed away in 2016, including former first lady nancy reagan. 8:00, our inat memoriam program continues with shimon peres, mohammed ali and john g.